Mayor Tyer Shares COVID-19 Vaccination Update
Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer provides a few updates from today's message added to the city's Vaccination Hotline (to hear the full message call 413.449.5575):
In Berkshire County, large-scale clinics continue at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary in North Adams, and WEB Dubois Middle School in Great Barrington. Beginning at 4 p.m. today, limited appointments will be released for BCC and WEB Dubois Middle School.
Limited appointments for St. Elizabeth’s will also be available over the next couple of days. As you may have heard, we are also expecting a large shipment of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine later this week. Appointments will open for all three sites once that vaccine arrives in the county. As always, prior notification of at least 6-12 hours will be posted on www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org before appointments open. You can then use the website to link directly to the registration system.
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Or you can go to www.maimmunizations.org and search for a clinic. Please note that the search function at maimmunizations.org is difficult to use; it may be easier to scroll down and look for your location. You will need to look for the name of the location, not the municipality it is located in. If you do not have Internet access, you can call the Council on Aging in Williamstown, Adams, North Adams, Cheshire, Dalton, Pittsfield, Lanesborough, Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, or Sheffield for assistance, or you can call the state hotline at 211 during business hours.
Note that 211 does not always have the most up-to-date information for the Berkshires and cannot help with second-dose appointments.
The state registration system’s “waiting room” has been recently amended so you should be able to register for the appointment prior to entering all your information, assuming appointments are available.
If you are registering for your second dose, you will be emailed a private link for the second dose clinic. Please do not share this link with anyone; those registering for a first dose at a second dose clinic will not be vaccinated, even if otherwise eligible.
If you are a veteran, you may be able to get a vaccination at the VA clinic in Northampton. Please call 413-584-4040 for more information and to make an appointment. All veteran vaccinations are being done in Northampton. The VA is prioritizing veterans by age, starting with those 85 and older, and moving to lower age groups as they get a vaccine.
LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions
While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.